Houston officials haven’t commenced substantive discussions yet about an extension for quarterback Matt Schaub, who is entering the final season of his contract at a base salary of $7 million-plus, but likely will do so before the end of the summer. The Texans seem satisfied that Schaub is well recovered from last year’s foot injury.

We will likely not know of any contract until it is a done deal as the Texans tend to be secretive about this sort of thing. And typically, they don’t work deals in season.

Schaub and the Texans putting together a reasonably priced extension could be a win-win for both. Schaub is a good fit for the Texans system. And as well as TJ Yates played as a rookie (being very protected in the system), he isn’t the ideal Schaub replacement.

Pluses for Both Getting a Deal Done Now.

The incentive for Schaub to get a deal done now is not having it be a distraction, and getting guaranteed money given injury uncertainty in the NFL. Being a starting quarterback in the NFL is like musical chairs–there’s only so many spots, and being a QB for a Kubiak Texans team is a good QB position to be in, especially now that the roster has come together more. Sometimes the greener pastures that quarterbacks seek with QB needy teams end up being bad situations that lead to an exit out of the league.

The incentive for the Texans to get a deal done now is that it is likely less expensive than if Schaub has a terrific season. In addition, there are not ideal post-Schaub QB options on the current roster. Without Schaub, the Texans could be in Redskins without RG3, running an inconsistent offense without a true starting NFL quarterback option.

Neither Schaub or the Texans are a distraction-liking type people.

Ultimately, this may be like the Arian Foster deal. Neither side needed to deal when they did, but both recognized that the fit was the best situation for both.

Minuses for Both Getting a Deal Done Now.

If Schaub has a solid season, he could be leaving money on the table. There are 32 teams and not 32 starting quality NFL quarterbacks.

For the Texans, if Schaub has an injury filled season, they could be locked into a pricey quarterback option in a situation where they’d rather cut bait and use that salary money for someone else. That they’d rather think long term and develop their next future quarterback.

I do not think that Schaub’s foot injury is an issue. The Pasquerelli item suggests the Texans are satisfied with Schaub’s recovery from his foot injury, and from what I observed of his workouts on the side field of OTAs, I have no reason to doubt that.

About Schaub in 2012.

According to the Texans website, Schaub says he’s 100% and has been working with some of the Texans wide receivers at the University of Houston.

Ron Jaworski has been ranking various quarterbacks and has Schaub ranked 13th. The biggest knocks on him has been his durability. (Sadly, Schaub has had some of the flukiest weird injuries you can think of. Who gets hurt doing a QB sneak? In previous years, some of his injuries are of the sort where the NFL has used his injury as a point of emphasis, such as hits below the knee, hits of the quarterback during change of possession).

Jaworski has Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco rated ahead of Schaub. I don’t know about that.

Last year was the first year that Schaub played with a decent defense. Jaworski cites QB wins with Flacco, but you can’t ignore the defense he’s played with during his time with the team. Flacco to me looks like he can’t even make basic throws–that his whole offense is chuck it down the field and hope for a catch or a pass interference or at worst, an interception something equivalent to a punt.

You will likely hear all sorts of rumors about Schaub and the Texans and contract stuff. Don’t believe any of it unless or until something is signed if at all.

It takes two to sign a contract. I think it would make sense for both to enter into a deal, but it won’t happen unless they can find a number that works for everyone, including a Texans team that doesn’t have a ton of money to spend.

If you ask me if it should be done, I will answer it with the same answer Schaub and the Texans would give…it depends on the numbers.

32 Responses

Dang, Brian Cushing looks as yoked up as ever. Good to see players hitting it hard in the offseason!

Matt Ryan ahead of Schaub?!? No way. Joe Flacco is arguable. Sometimes Flacco looks like an elite QB, and sometimes he looks like a complete doof. But like UT QB #10 (or so they say), the man generally finds ways to win games, and that’s gotta count for something.

If I’m ranking Schaub objectively, I put him around the 10-12 range… above average, but not elite. He’s very efficient in THIS offense, and has put up some decent yardage numbers. His TD’s generally haven’t been great, and he has virtually zero mobility. And although his injuries have often been fluky, you still have to take them into account. With the exception of his mobility (about which he gets CRUSHED on all on time), I think we often look at Schaub through rose-colored glasses. He had a great season in 2009, with one of the highest single-season passing yard totals in history, and nearly led the Texans to the playoffs. Followed it up with a pretty good season in 2010, statistics-wise. Passer rating has generally been pretty high, and completion % has been very high. But let’s put this in perspective… Until last season, Schaub’s play hasn’t led to many wins. He’s never started a playoff game. He’s never seemed to be the player to propel the team to wins… doesn’t have the “get on my back” mentality that some other QB’s have. He’s a product of the system, and his high yards season was due to a) the system, and b) the Texans ground game was terrible and no there were no other options other than slinging the ball around (can’t make the same argument for 2010 however, with Arian’s monster season). He’s a perfect fit for the Texans system (although it would be nice if he could run a little), and does well in the system… but that shouldn’t necessarily put him among the elites.

I’m not trying to be a Schaub hater here… I like him, and think he works well for the Texans. It just seems that the locals are quick to want to rank him high because of the statistics-heavy 2009 season. Statistics are all well and good, but give me wins. Give me a winner, with a winner’s mentality. I hope that Schaub has used his rehab to come back in the best shape he’s ever been in, and can lead the Texans to many wins next season, and leap past a few QB’s on the rankings chart.

Did you look at that defensive help/running back help link for Flacco? For most of Schaub’s seasons, he rarely had both an above average running game performance combined with an above average defensive performance. For Flacco, Sanchez, it was pretty much common place. Schaub has put the Texans in position to win many times but too often the defense couldn’t hold on to leads. I am not a fan of the QB wins numbers. Because it very much is a team game.

Just being the contrarian here. Don’t get me wrong… I’m all for locking up Schaub to a new contract. But only for 3 years at the most (meanwhile finding and grooming the heir apparent). For now, he is the best option to run the Texans offense. My point was to beware the stats, because stats don’t tell the whole story. Just like wins don’t tell the whole story. My other point is that I don’t see Schaub as the “get on my back and I’LL take you to the promise land” kind of guy. To date, that guy was AJ, and for the past 2 seasons, Arian Foster, and last season, Wade’s defense. There are only a few of those guys in the league (and it’s debatable as to who they are), and I wish Schaub had a little more of it in him. It’s a different proposition to put the team in position to win than to hunker down and make plays to win it yourself. I think we would like to have the guy who’s touching the ball on every offensive snap to be that kind of guy.

Steph Schaub may have put The team in position to win to only be let down by The defense but at The same The defense put The offense in position to win to only be let down by Schaub (Remember The Ravens Monday Night Game and The pick six in Arizona) so what exactly are you saying because its a two way street. Schaub is a average quarterback no matter how much you try to defend him better yet he is just a backup whether you want to admit it or not and Greg eluded to what I was saying he can’t run to save his life so how do you justify paying him when The offense dictates a quarterback that can move his feet. I will ask The question again is The resiging of Schaub going to come down to politics or wins because Mcnair wants to uphold such a goody image he is afraid to go against The grain which could hinder The team in The process so this decision needs to be about winning otherwise it could set The franchise back a few years.

Do the Texans have the salary cap space today to negotiate a new contract with Matt Schaub? Considering that Schaub currently counts right at $11 million against the cap, they could probably do it if compromises and some funny accounting are used. That’s close ($2-$3 Million short)to what it will take to re-sign Schaub. You have to expect that Schaub will want more than what he’s making today.

Reviewing starting QBs that have signed their 2nd contract, their average today is close to $14 million a year. Considering Brady and P Manning are at $16-$18 million, $14 million a year is about right for Schaub. I’m not sure they can do that today without some funny math and accounting. Using funny math and accounting in the past is what has created the biggest enemy of the Texans today. Are their teams that would be happy to meet Schaub’ new contract demands? Off the top of my head Seattle comes to mind.

For those of you hoping for a hometown discount, that almost never happens. In other words, forgetaboutit! This is Matt’s last chance to make big the big bucks. And it’s always about the money. Like you and me, Matt is highly unlikely to walk away leaving $2-$3 million a year for 5 or 6 years ($18 million) sitting on the table.

After further research I believe I made an error in reporting Matt Schaub’s 2012 Salary Cap amount of $11 million. It appears that Schaub’s 4th year signing bonus of $10 million was applied in full to the 2010 salary cap year ($15 mil) instead of being spread over the remaining years of the contract. Therefore Schaub’s 2012 salary cap amount would be $7.15 million. This should have no bearing or effect on Matt’s new contract. I still think his salary cap amount will be in the neighborhood of $14 million (similar to his contemporaries). This also means salary cap relief from Schaub becoming a FA in 2013 is $7.15 million instead of the $11 million.

I’m definitely not saying we should dump Schaub as I’m sure some people will take this, but I’m not sure how you conclude that Yates “isn’t the ideal Schaub replacement”. Let’s compare Yates to the incoming Schaub of 2007.

When Schaub was signed to a $48 million contract and was immediately named starter for the Texans, his pro line was 52.2% completions, 6.4 yards per attempt, 3.7% TDs, 3.7% Ints and a 69.2 passer rating in 161 regular season attempts. Yates in 134 attempts was 61.2%, 7.1 YPA, 2.2% TDs, 2.2% Ints and a 80.7 passer rating as a rookie with no off-season program and barely any reps. He also — however much protected — guided the team to a 3-1 record against play-off teams. Who has the higher future ceiling?

Let’s also take a look at exactly how “protected” Yates was too. He played in two partial games (Jax and Ten). In his full games — including playoffs — he had 170 attempts in 6 games or 28.3 per game. Schaub on the other hand had a whopping 29.2 attempts per game last year. A per game difference of…wait…that’s not really that much difference at all, is it?

Again, I’m not saying dump Schaub, but to say Yates is not the ideal replacement after the success he had as a rookie with no off-season program and extremely limited reps may be off-based in my opinion. In fact IF Schaub went down again this year and IF Yates had the same success (after an off-season of 1st team reps), I would absolutely feel comfortable if they decided to spend our very limited free agent money elsewhere and that Yates was taking over. Those are two big IFs, but not out of the realm of possibility given recent history.

Look at Yates’ points versus Schaub’s points. In addition, you can’t compare Schaub’s first season because the roster at that time on both sides of the ball wasn’t quite ready for prime time. Didn’t have a running game, didn’t have a defense. Right now, I have no reason to believe that Yates is the guy that is worth running Schaub off for–in other words, unlike you, I would not “absolutely feel comfortable” giving the offense to Yates based on what I know/have seen right now.

First, it’s interesting that you apparently completely ignore my statement “I’m definitely not saying we should dump Schaub as I’m sure some people will take this”. I — again — am not saying we should “run Schaub off”.

Secondly, those aren’t Schaub’s stats for his first season with the Texans. Those are the stats of his first 3 seasons in Atlanta where he played on a team with one of the best running games and better supporting casts in the NFL at the time. Also, a QB playing with a bad D likely pads that QB’s stats as they are constantly in a position of playing keep-up if not catch-up.

Third, you seem to take the stance that a rookie QB who got virtually no practice time before being thrust into a starting gig will make no progression as a player once he A) has that successful experience under his belt and B) has an off-season filled with study time and practice snaps. Not sure I understand that logic.

Finally, if you hadn’t noticed, my being comfortable with Yates as permanent starter was conditional — in case you missed the IFs which I even capitalized. IF Schaub went down again…IF Yates built on his success from last year as one would expect. We can disagree on whether it would be alarming or not, but let’s not misconstrue or ignore the context in which statements were made.

This should be a pretty easy deal to make (which means it won’t be – these things never seem to make sense). The Texans are a better team with Schaub, who has the skill and experience to run this offense. On the other side, Schaub is a better QB in Kubiak’s offense than he would be anywhere else, so both sides should be interested in making an extension happen. Houston needs to ride with Schaub for the next few years, and hope to develop a backup behind him who can step in when his ride is done.

Schaub might not be on the same level as Brees, Rodgers, or Brady, but those guys aren’t going to be available next year. Nobody better than Schaub will be. The only way they get a guy better than Matt is to tank the season and hope the hype is correct on the top QB in the draft – a crazy idea given the state of the AFC South division, or trade away the future like Washington did this year. I guess in theory they could trade away the present too, but that is even more foolish than trading away your draft. I’d rather stick with the guy I know is good than give up too much for a guy who has never played a down in the NFL that might be great.

Comparing QBs on different teams is difficult. No two situations are the same. I’d put Schaub in the middle of the second tier of QBs. He’s not a top 5 QB, but I’d say he’s a top 10 guy, and I don’t think anyone would say he’s not top 15. And nobody who has a top 15 guy is going to let him go, because the bottom half of the league’s quarterbacks are way behind. Yeah, I know, Peyton Manning is probably a top 10 guy if he’s healthy. I’ll wait and see on that one. Aging stars like McNabb and Favre have combined for 1 good season out of 5 after being let go by their former teams. I’m not saying Petyon can’t do it, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Then again, Peyton isn’t playing for Minnesota – yet. Most of the time, if a team is letting a guy go, he doesn’t have much left.

One last thing on TJ Yates. I like him, but he has started 7 games, and lost 4 of them, including one to the worst team in the NFL last year. Is that really who you want starting for a playoff contender?

I’m not disagreeing with your overall take, but you say “Schaub might not be on the same level as Brees, Rodgers, or Brady, but those guys aren’t going to be available next year. Nobody better than Schaub will be. The only way they get a guy better than Matt is to tank the season and hope the hype is correct on the top QB in the draft”.
The 3 you mentioned (Brees, Rodgers, Brady) were not taken with high draft choices. So why do you think the only way we could get someone better than Schaub is with a super-high draft pick. Who knows, it could be TJ or Case in another year or two?

How can you say The Texans are a better team with Schaub and they have yet to make The playoffs with Schaub? Schaubs win loss record doesn’t even justify what you are saying so could you explain in detail what justifies this because it’s not all about numbers either not to mention he doesn’t fit The offense so exactly how are The Texans better with Schaub please explain

Fair point Rocky. Those guys also didn’t become elite quarterbacks overnight. Brady and Brees sat for a year, Rodgers sat for 3, and Brees struggled for his first couple seasons as a starter. The first year versions of those guys weren’t better than Schaub, or if they were, we didn’t see it. That is the best path to follow. Develop your next guy behind the current guy, and hopefully Drew Bledsoe becomes Tom Brady, Brett Favre becomes Aaron Rodgers, and Matt Schaub becomes… the next guy. But that takes time. Keep Schaub, and you have that time. Let him go, and you go into desperation mode to try and find a decent QB.

Chris, you asked me to explain, so even though I don’t think you will listen, here goes.

Let’s start with basics. Obviously, winning is the most important thing. How does a team win? By scoring more points than the other team. Quarterback play only affects one side of that equation, unless you have a guy who is a pick-6 machine. In general, even the best QB can’t stop an opponent from scoring. So to evaluate Schaub or any other quarterback, I look at offensive scoring and passer rating. I don’t care about yards. What good are yards if you don’t score?

Rating isn’t a perfect stat, but it is the best measure we have of passing ability. Schaub is one of two QBs who has been in the top 10 of NFL passer rating every year since 2008. The other is Aaron Rodgers. Pretty good company. Granted, Rodgers has been a top 5 guy, and Schaub has been in the second five, but I’m not saying Schaub is great. I’m saying he’s good, and his consistent rating supports that idea. The top 3 QB ratings last year went to Rodgers, Brees, and Brady. Rating might not be perfect, but it is a good indicator.

Scoring offense is also a flawed stat. Teams with a good defense don’t need to score as much, and teams with a poor defense might get some cheap scores at the end. But in general, it is as good as any other indicator. Last seasons top 3 scoring offenses were Green Bay, New Orleans, and New England. I don’t think anyone will argue that those teams don’t have great quarterbacks (see above). Houston’s 23.8 points per game finished 10th (third season in a row in the top 10), but for 10 games with Schaub, they averaged 27.3, which would have been 5th. For 6 games without him, they averaged 16.3, which would have been 27th. In 3 of those games, Houston played division teams that they scored better against earlier in the season with Schaub. Schaub also faced better defenses like Pittsburgh (1), Baltimore (3), Cleveland (5), and Miami (6). As for winning and losing and getting his team to the playoffs, Schaub led the team to a 7-3 record, and they were 3-3 without him, including losses to two teams they beat with Schaub. I’d say he deserves some credit for making the playoffs last year.

While these stats support my idea that Schaub is a good quarterback, the real thing that supports it is watching him play. He executes the play action fake as well as anyone, which fits the Texans offense perfectly. He isn’t the most mobile guy in the world, but the Texans have a couple pretty good options if they want to run. Why would you want your quarterback to run when you have Arian Foster or Ben Tate standing next to him? You want Schaub to pass, and he is one of the better passers in the league. Not the best, but absolutely in the top 10.

Schaub cannot afford (literally) to get injured again this year. Despite a potent career with the Texans, he hasn’t actually led the team to the playoffs (blame Peyton Manning and a bad timing injury last year). TJ Yates will be biting at the bit to lead again along with rookie Case Keenum who will be wanting to show that his prolific college game can translate to the pros.

I’m a definite Schaub fan. He’s been a good field leader, worked well with the offense. The main thing his detractors gripe about – including Jaws – is the one thing beyond his control, fluke injuries.

You know, this is football. People get injured. And if you have Fat Albert Haynesworth stomp on your foot, things break. Even then he tried to keep playing, but he had to shut it down or trash his entire career.

I’m with you 100% Steph, when it comes to defending Schaub’s record. If you look at all the other stats besides his W/L column, you see that Schaub has been an elite QB. His QB rating has consistently been in the 90’s. His lifetime TD to INT ratio is in the neighborhood of 2-1. His QB rating in the 4th quarter when the game is within 7 is about 120. He led the league a couple of years ago with over 4700 yards.

And he’s not a glory hog. If the running game is working, the dude is more than happy to hand it off. He credits his teammates. This is really a great QB!

I mean, what more does this guy have to do to prove himself? Oh yeah, he needs to win a Superbowl. Okay, so is the offense the reason the Texans have not won? Not at all. It’s been the defense, until last year, that is. The reason the Texans have been even remotely competitive in their off-years was because of Schaub’s highly ranked offense.

I wonder what game people are watching when they don’t realize just how good this guy is. Jaws has him at #13. I have him at #7. EASILY ahead of Flacco, Vick, Ryan.

It would be foolish for the Texans to let Schaub get away. He’s a great fit in this offense and I think that both sides would regret letting Schaub leave. To claim that TJ Yates should start over Schaub is a silly comment. Now I like TJ, but he’s only had a limited number of starts and though he’s shown flashes of brilliance, he has also looked terrible too (as any rookie likely would). I would say continue to groom Yates over the next few seasons and revisit the starting job at that point. I don’t know anyone (sane) who thinks that Schaub is an elite top 5 QB, but he’s certainly an above average QB (regardless of the reasoning – teammates, system, etc).

I think that creating a numerical ranking for any position is silly (how could someone really pick between Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers for example), but I would say that QBs could be grouped. Here are my groups:

I hate the idea of Schaub making House’s proposed $14M a year, but look at how good Schaub is compared to his contemporaries. 4th in Adjusted Y/A, 3rd in Y/A, 6th in QRating: Schaub is at least a top 1/4 of the NFL QB, and maybe top-6. Who’s ahead of him? Rodgers, Brees, Brady; yeah, and probably Eli and Roethlisberger. Romo, Stafford, Newton and maybe Rivers are contemporaries. (Amazing that Cam Newton’s come so far, this fast.) Who knows where to slot Peyton, as it all depends on how he adjusts to Denver and what his neck does when some 300 lb’er lands on it.

Guys like that get paid in this year’s NFL. And so will Schaub. I can see Antonio Smith’s deal getting re-worked/extended to try and free up some money for Schaub. Remember also that Duane Brown’s new deal comes up next year and is going to have to fit in here somehow.

I am guessing Schaub’s salary to be approx. $12 million but when you add in signing bonuses, reporting bonuses, workout bonuses etc his annual salary cap amount will likely be about $14 million if not more.

Steph The problem The Texans are going to have with resiging Schaub is that they have eleven other free agents to sign as well and like Larry said its no way Schaub takes less to stay here. I think it would be an easier decision to sign Schaub as opposed to The rest of The players if he had become an franchise quarterback but he hasn’t and The numbers he has put up is due more to The system not to take anything away from him by why would you pay him Tom Brady money when his production hasn’t measured up not to mention he has yet to lead this team to The playoffs so what justifies paying The guy. I think he should get The same treatment Mario Williams got which is to play out The season and then we will make The decision if we should resign him or not or does Rick Smith already know The answer but is playing it close to his vest. I disagree with you when you says he fits The offense which in all honestly he doesn’t because anytime The majority of your plays are based on bootleggs and your quarterback doesn’t have The foot speed to get outside or The arm strength to make throws on The run he doesn’t fit which was why we clamored for RG3 for The Texans because The Redskins basically run The same offense. Steph Im just being honest but if think they should resign him thats one thing but to say he fits The offense is totally absurd. I mean his win loss record doesn’t justify resigning him either and he hasn’t taken us to The playoffs in such a quarterback driven league so what is your basis for keeping The guy. Is it about keeping fanny’s in The seats or winning games is what its going to come down to not contractual because if you can’t pay a defensive lineman(Mario) how on God’s green earth can you pay a quarterback who makes much more on every team in The NFL.

“There are 32 teams and not 32 starting quality NFL quarterbacks.” Matt ASchaub is NOT one of them. He’s a second stringer with ONE good year. Let him go, and find the franchise a NEW QB who can be the face of the team for years to come.

Let The Church say Amen. I totally agree you said The same thing I said he is basically a backup quarterback so why would you want to resign him beats me. When two or more people are saying The same thing it should tell you something there is a big difference between hating and The truth and Schaub just isn’t The guy you pay franchise money to when he is not a franchise quarterback its simple math folks hell Kubiak could get fired within two years or resign and then you are stuck with a quarterback that is not suitable in another offense because Im sure a new coach will change The offense so thats something we should think about as well. Honestly Schaub is not a closer when The lights get brighter he folds under The pressure and hangs his head when things are going bad. Thats not a leader or someone you want quarterbacking your team so why bother The book is out on The Texans if you make Schaub have to beat you and you have an adequate defense you will beat The Texans all The time just get your popcorn and watch this upcoming season later.

Oh Cielo, that’s just crazy talk. Whether you intend to or not, you are simply coming across as a Schaub hater, rather than a rational critic. Looking logically at the current situation in the NFL, here are a list of teams that would absolutely trade QBs straight up with the Texans, no question:

And then there are a slew of QBs that Schaub is also better than, but I won’t bother to argue those points. The list above is truly inarguable.

So, you want the Texans to go out and “find” a new QB who would step in and be a top 15 QB? I would be very interested in who you think that person would be and where, exactly you would like them to be found?

I like Matt a lot as a person, and a QB. I think Ryan and Flacco were rated above him because of their arm stregnth, which is important, too. If Matt is a second tier QB then he needs to be offered a second tier contract which would be a about what his original(per year) contract was. Something tells me that he would sign for around $9 mil a year for three years. If he wants more, he would probably want to shop around but I don’t think many teams are going to invest their future to him at that price. If the Texans offered 3 yrs at $25 mil he ought to jump at it. They still have a lot of players to sign along with him.
Yates will be a better QB this year than last, with a full offseason, #1 reps at OTA’s and minicamp, and some valuable experience under pressure last year. I think he is ideal this year as our #2 QB. Thanks for your latest post.

Steph – I think you really hit the nail on the most controversial decisions the Texans brass is going to have to make. There is NO DOUBT that the Texans should sign Schaub to a two year deal because of where they are as a team right now! They are ready to make a legit Superbowl Run and NO other QB is the right QB for this team right now. He has the system down and the players on the field trust him. There is no other QB who has those two ingredients right now. So lock him up – and see how this year goes. IF he finally makes smart red-zone decisions, IF he wins excels in the playoffs, IF he becomes a SB champion quarterback then all this debate goes away.

However, you also have to explore what would make the brass go another direction…..
IF he doesn’t seem to improve in red zone efficiency. IF he regresses in performance in “clutch” situations where we can put a team away, or leave them in contention. IF he suffers another fluke injury. IF he throws a significant number of interceptions. All of these things may lead to the team itself questioning if he is the trigger man they need.

But, from what I have heard from EVERY Texan player – Schaub is THE MAN. So I think for now, he is indeed the man, and if he turns out not to be – it’s still going to be his team this year!

What really bugs me about ALL of the discussions around Schaub, is that for two years in a row his peers don’t even consider him a TOP 100 football player. To me THAT speaks volumes. How much of that is influenced by national media? IF he were to win a superbowl this year – have a great top3 statistical year – where would he “suddenly” appear on the list next year?

When it’s all said and done – the Texans and Schaub WILL be seen nationally this year. They are in the drivers seat and we’re all in it for the ride! Hang on…there will be bumps!!!! lol

If you really don’t think that Schaub would take less to stay here then do a list of places where he might go. It would be a mighty short list. He is notoriously fragile, every one that knows that a football has two pointy ends knows that.

I’m disappointed in some of the strange logic being used to discount his ability.

1. “His 2009 season is irrelevant, we had no running game so he had to pass and thats why he had great numbers”

This is a horrible explanation, how many quarterbacks out there on bad teams have torched opposing teams for 4700+ yards? Put an 8 man prevent defense out there and still throw for 270 yards a game? How anyone considers Schuab a backup is beyond me.

2. “He doesn’t win games”

By this logic I’m sure you hold Trent Dilfer and Alex Smith in very high regards. This sport is a team sport more so than any other sport out there. There is more to wins and losses than a Qb.

3. “He isn’t clutch, the pick 6 in the ravens game shows it.”

Did you watch the 4th quarter of that game? Did you seem him decimate that RAVENS defense? He missed a read in OT, it happens.

4 “TJ Yates will be better”

Maybe, but throwing THREE interceptions in the most.important game of your career leads me to believe we should give him as much time as possible to learn with a clipboard and ballcap.

I have no reason to like or dislike Matt Schaub (or the Texans for that matter), so I’m hopefully more objective and unbiased. I’m not going to discuss his health or injury history; I’ll leave that to the medical experts.

Schaub has NEVER impressed me as a quarterback that you would want to give the ball to for winning a crucial game. He just doesn’t seem to have the on field leadership style to be a winner. Too many times, his offense built up a big first half lead, only to see it squandered after the opponents made mid-game adjustments. Schaub never seemed to be able to respond in turn. (I do recognize that some of that is more of a coaching issue; his second half execution, however, just hasn’t been there too often.) He just doesn’t have that killer instinct that puts the fear in any opponent.

Sure, he can put up big yardage numbers in a game. Does that make him a winner or go-to guy? NFL history has proven otherwise way too many times (the recent verbal attacks directed at Cam Netwon aside).

If you look at the whole body of Schaub’s work as a Texan, you’ll find where he passed for some big statistics against at best average teams. Having big games against Tennessee or Jacksonville doesn’t amount to much in most Schaub’s tenure with the Texans. He rarely beats a playoff caliber team (the win against a pretty dysfunctional Steelers team early last year aside). You’ll also find where he couldn’t get past some pretty mediocre teams (can you say the Raiders).

The loss against Oakland really told alot about where the Texans can expect to go with Schaub at the helm. Instead of leading the team and doing what it takes to win, he failed miserably with the game on the line. He’s a stay-at-home drop back passer who cannot improvize well. The likes of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, Bret Favre, Tim Tebow and others would have seen the clear path for running the ball for the go ahead TD that the Raiders presented Schaub. They would have taken on the responsibility for winning the game and done what it took to get things done. Not Schaub.

That said, the Texans don’t have many options. A trade is pretty much out of the question, as they don’t really have deep enough talent to part with what it would take to land a better quarterback than Schaub. I doubt that there will be a quality QB available to them in the draft. Rookie QBs are usually too much of a work in progress at best. (I’m also not convinced that the Texans brain trust can find a quality later round draft pick QB that could step right in and take over; Yates is still a big work in progress and a big question for being able to win in the NFL.) Free agent QBs are available because their previous team didn’t want to invest in them. While they may be serviceable, free agent QBs tend to be at best a backup or insurance policy.

The difficulty of assessing QB comebacks and the Texans is that for so many of their years, their defense was terrible and couldn’t hold a lead. His best year for comebacks was a year where the Texans defense was still bad but not near the bottom of the league, in 2009: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/comeback.cgi?player=SchaMa00 Also worth noting that QB comebacks aren’t just the QB doing. See e.g. He was throwing to Jacoby Jones in that Raiders game.